The nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards have just been announced and true enough, there are a few surprises (or should we call it a blind side) and several predictable fares. This is what I, the self-important film buff and zeitgeist, can recap/analyse in a matter of minutes after the announcement.

1. OMG, there are 10 nominated films in the Best Picture category instead of the usual 5? Wait, you already knew that. Next.

2. The Blind Side in Best Picture? Clearly, we didn’t see (pun intended) that one coming. This movie has Hallmark written all over it.

3. We expected Up in the Best Animated Film category but Best Picture? Epic!

4. Meryl Streep is nominated for the 16th time in the Best Actress category for her role in Julie & Julia. Tres bien!

5. Former married couple James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow are nominated for Best Director. Don’t the Oscars just love some ex-marital drama?

6. Where is The Hangover?  The crowd favourite that won at the recent Golden Globes is snubbed for Best Picture. I say bring on the lads and crash the party!

7. And what about the geek fave Star Trek directed by J.J. Abrams? Somebody at the Academy is not on board the Enterprise for sure.

8. But sci-fi fans need not lose heart. At least the excellent District 9 makes the cut for Best Picture.

9. Expect to see an increase in movie downloads of obscure movies like The Last Station and The White Ribbon, which are all nominated in various categories. Are the distributors reading this?

10. Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien are hosting the Oscars together. Right.

Return to this Oscar Special section every week for more updates, analysis and predictions from yours truly. This is IAMAMORON (that’s my Avatar name, cool huh?) signing out.

Complete List of Nominations

Best PictureAvatar
The Blind Side
District 9An EducationThe Hurt LockerInglourious BasterdsPrecious
A Serious Man
UpUp in the Air

Best ActorJeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best ActressSandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting ActorMatt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting ActressPenélope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Original ScreenplayMark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy, Up
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Adapted ScreenplayJesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche, In the Loop
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Best Foreign Language Film
El Secreto do Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Un Prophete (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)

Best Art Direction
 Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Best Cinematography
 Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Best Costume Design
 Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

Best Documentary
 Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Best Editing
 Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Best Makeup
 Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

Best Score
 Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up

Best Song
 “Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname,” Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas
“Take It All,” Nine, Maury Weston
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett & Ryan Bingham

Best Sound Editing
 Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Best Sound Mixing
 Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Visual Effects
 Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Best Documentary Short
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

Best Animated Short
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live-Action Short
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants